We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. (Colossians 1:3-5) Show As Paul wrote to the Christians in the ancient city of Colosse—people he had yet to meet—he started his letter with encouraging words. They weren’t empty encouraging words, because Paul really meant them. Paul saw three things in the Colossians that genuinely made him thankful to God. The three things Paul saw are familiar to many Christians: faith, hope, and love.  First, Paul was thankful because of their faith in Christ Jesus. They heard the word of the gospel and in response they put their faith in Jesus. They had a real relationship of trusting love in Him. They didn’t trust themselves for either their daily bread or their eternal safety. Their faith was in Jesus, not in idols and not in self. Next, Paul was thankful because of their love for all the saints, God’s people. Because of God’s work in their life they had a love they didn’t have before. They forgave those who sinned against them and they prayed for those who seemed like their enemies. They helped and served and blessed each other. Their love went beyond the people of God, but it was especially evident among them, the saints. Finally, Paul was thankful because of the hope they had in heaven. Faith was their beginning of life with God and love was their present. In the future they had every hope in heaven. The idea of hope goes beyond wishful thinking; it is an assured confidence of something that is not yet but certainly will be. These three—faith, hope, and love—are important to God. He said that those three would abide when all else passed away (1 Corinthians 13:13). Many times in the New Testament these three are collected together (Galatians 5:5-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and 5:8; 2 Timothy 1:12-13; 1 Peter 1:21-22). I hope you have these three in your life, and it’s even better to think that they could all grow in your. We could all use more faith, more hope, and more love. But it’s one thing to have these great Christian virtues; it’s another thing to show them. Can anyone see faith in your life? Pray that God would not only give you these, but by His grace that they would show and shine brightly to a world that needs faith, hope, and love. Use this form to subscribe to this weekly devotional [constantcontactapi formid="3"] David’s weekly devotional is also translated into German. [constantcontactapi formid="2"] 1 Corinthians 13:13 What does the Bible say about faith, hope, and love? 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV) says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” In context Paul lists faith, hope, and love as three primary gifts all Christians will always have. 1 Corinthians 12 to 14 are three chapters focusing mainly on spiritual gifts. While the more specific spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues, teaching, and so on are obviously important in Christianity, Paul here elevates these three gifts and states other gifts will vanish one day (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) but these three will remain. To me it’s always seemed a bit random to list faith, hope, and love together. What’s the connection here? And why is love elevated above faith and hope? It may surprise you, as it did me, that when you begin to study what the Bible says about faith, hope, and love, you will find that these three are linked in other places (Galatians 5:5-6, 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8) other than 1 Corinthians 13:13 as well. What Does the Bible Say About Faith? Faith is perhaps the most abused Christian term because it has been adopted by so many religions and people who use it entirely different than the Bible. You are safe when you talk about “faith” these days. It is a pacified word because culturally people know you don’t simply mean one truth, religion, or Savior is being highlighted when you say something like, “I have faith,” or, “I’m a person of faith,” or “What faith group are you from?” While it is socially acceptable to “have faith,” it is still and will always be disrupting and awkward to the world when you state, “I have faith in Jesus Christ.” Faith as the world uses this word is worthless since the object of this type of faith is not important. The world says you can believe in whatever you want as long as you are not stating other people’s beliefs are lesser than your own. While Christians certainly should not be prideful or arrogant about their superior faith, we must also be clear for our own benefit and the world’s what we mean when we say we have faith. When the Bible talks about faith, the object of that faith is always the same, Jesus Christ. But what is faith exactly: Faith is believing in things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). There’s more to faith than that, but there’s not less.That’s the baseline definition of faith at least. Faith is not absent of evidence, only of sight. So even though there’s a lot of strong evidence for Jesus as God, we have faith in Jesus because we did not see with our own eyes what he did on earth, we do not fully see him now, and we obviously cannot see the future. But this does not mean we have blind faith or a faith not rooted in evidence and objective truth. What Does the Bible Say About Hope? Faith and hope are very similar. Most define “hope” as an expectation for something good. Biblically this is accurate in that hope looks ahead to the future promises in Christ that are not yet fully realized at this point in history. I believe hope is when your faith is expressed towards the future. Faith is more general than hope because it relates to the past, present and future. A Christian has faith in the historical works of God like the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. These are events that actually happened even though we don’t see them. And today we have faith that the historical work of the gospel accomplishes certain blessings for us right now. Again, faith and hope are certainly connected, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). But when faith is pointed towards the future and towards blessings not yet fully given, I believe this is when the Bible includes the word hope. For example:
We are “waiting for our blessed hope” and “we wait for [Him] with patience.” What Does the Bible Say About Love? Out of faith, hope, and love Christians are probably most familiar with what the Bible says about love. In short, love is more than a thought or a feeling according to the Bible. True love is an action. Love is when you do what’s best for another at whatever cost to yourself (John 15:13). Love, therefore, is always something expressed in the present. You can’t point to your love in the past and then escape the duty of love in the present. You can’t promise to love someone later and not love them now. Christian love is an action meant to be repeated over and over again each moment as we live our lives. How Do Faith, Hope and Love Fit Together? So how does faith, hope, and love work together? What is the meaning of these three being linked together? One thing that faith, hope, and love all have in common is that they all affect the way we live in the present. While faith and hope can be rooted in past and future events, when we have faith and hope it changes the way we live. As 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (ESV), “ . . . remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” The “work of faith” means our good works are produced out of our faith in Jesus Christ. As James 2:17 states, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” The “labor of love” means our efforts and services are motivated out of our genuine love for God and people. As 1 John 4:20 explains, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” If you have true, Christian love, you will have the evidence of “labor” to prove it. You know a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:17). The “steadfastness of hope” is the endurance that is inspired out of our faith placed in the blessings of the future. When times are hard in the present, the only way to keep going is to look to better days ahead. As Hebrews 12:1-2 explains, Jesus had endurance through the torture of the cross because he was looking ahead to future joy:
If we want endurance in the present, we must, like Christ, look to the future joy ahead of us. Again, our faith, hope and love are not generic but must be rooted “in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Why Is Love Elevated Above Faith and Hope? The Bible says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). I believe love is the greatest of these three virtues because love is the goal of these three virtues. As we just discussed in the previous section, faith, hope, and love all produce Christian actions right now in the present. But what type of actions and good deeds are we called to? All the commands are summarized in loving God and loving people (Matthew 22:38-39). Faith and hope are beliefs about the past, present, and future that should result in actions of love right now. Faith and hope need to happen in each moment presently for each Christian. But the end result of faith and hope should be love for God and people right now. When faith produces good works, they are to be good works of love. When hope looks to the future perfections we will experience in Christ, it causes us to live lives of love with endurance right now. Love is “greater” than faith and hope because without love being produced through faith and hope, you don’t actually have a true and biblical version of these two virtues. Love is above faith and hope because our present actions and choices are always the most important. Once the moment passes you are still responsible to love in this present moment. All you have control over are your actions right now. If you love less because you look to the past or future, your faith and hope are missing their true intentions. Perhaps Galatians 5:5-6 summarizes all this best:
What Does the Bible Say About Faith, Hope, and Love? Faith, hope, and love are the three gifts every Christian will always have. The Bible says faith, hope, and love all should affect the way we live, but love must link everything together in every moment, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14). You may also like:
A Fresh Look At Christian Transformation Get your copy of Basic Transformation (plus the study questions, which makes this a great eBook for small group Bible studies or personal devotional time) and access to all of our eBooks. It's completely free - my gift to you. Type in your email address and a copy will be sent right to your inbox. What is the relationship of faith hope and love?Hope is the fuel that keeps faith alive in our quest to find love. The way that faith, which is the seeking of the Lord, connects with hope, which is the expectation of finding Him, is through wisdom. Proverbs 24:14 says, “In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul.
How does faith and love work together?Galatians 5:6 says, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” Faith works by love. It is energized by love. Faith is put into motion by love.
How does faith and hope work together?When people have hope they have faith, because they hold a belief that says “I believe that the future will be better.” And while they have no grounds to “prove” the hopeful assumption, they have faith in it. While faith without hope is possible, hope without faith is not. Thus faith is not sufficient for hope.
How do you express faith hope and love to others?Here are 5 simple ways to show God's love to others:. Show God's Love by Listening.. Show God's Love with Generosity.. Show God's Love by Encouraging.. Show God's Love with Acts of Kindness.. Show God's Love by Praying for Others.. It's Possible to Show God's Love to Everyone.. What is the essential connection of the virtue of hope with faith and love?In contrast to the Four Cardinal Virtues, Faith, Hope and Love refer straight to God and symbolize the Holy Trinity. They all represent the foundation of the Christian action: thanks to them, our capacities are appropriate to participate in the Divine Nature.
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How do faith hope and love work together
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